SpecialEducation

Another '70 GT from Overland park is registered! Now I need TWO extra copies of the August Bugle to give away...

So... two more just registered. Got a '70 Opel GT coming from Overland Park.

Yep, WX looks perfect! I realize a lot of the long distance entries will be WX dependent, but right now I've only got one from KCMO. I think one from Topeka, and 3 from Salina. Total of 29 cars registered. Since the price went up Sunday, I'm not expecting any more pre-registers, but I know of 4 or five unregistered that are still planning to be out.

Opened up the motor, looks great inside. Replace the solenoid, and we're all good. Verified wiring goes straight from the battery to the switch to the starter; no relays, no fuses.

But my response was going to be hilarious! I spent minutes in Photoshop perfecting it. And yet I knew I probably shouldn't. Thanks for keeping me out of trouble, Speedo.

Hi Troy, we're glad you are here and hope you'll continue to find the forum a helpful addition to your toolbox!

I suppose I should preface this with the fact that the starter had previously been cutting out prematurely. We initially had suspected the pushbutton and dad picked up a spare, but it had been well behaved recently so we left it alone. Both symptoms are consistent with a failing contactor so it doesn't surprise me much. On on the bench today, the starter pulled 210 amps with no load. I don't have the spec in front of me, but that seems pretty high to me. Solenoid assembly is in Oklahoma City, and it should be here Tuesday. $70.

That's exactly what I expect, Bernie. I'm hoping that we can file the contacts and get going again. We got the starter out last night, so we'll start tearing it down shortly and see what it looks like. I've been working to put a local all-Buick car show together for a year and a half now, and the show is next weekend. I don't think I've got time for eBay parts or to send it out. If I can't clean up the points to get it going, I sure hope I can find some locally. I'm sure my rebuilder on Oklahoma has them. A road trip may be in my future...

Good point, Barney. I've got 4 vehicles from '83 thru '96 that use the PF47s, so I generally have those around. I've joked about just buying them by the case. I knew there was a long version, but I never remember what the number is. One vehicle may not have the clearance for a 52, but if both filters are the same price, there's not much reason to go with the smaller filter...

The relay is no longer part of the equation, and it hasn't been as long as we've owned the car. Does this look like a legit relay to you?

First off, the accelerator switch and starter relay have been disabled on this car as long as we've had it. There's a pushbutton that goes straight to the starter. It'll even crank (but not start) with the key off. So yesterday, dad gets in to start it, but when he lets go of the button, it just keeps cranking. The switch checks good, so the sticking seems to be at the starter. Anyone seen this before? The starter was rebuilt about 12 years ago. I'm guessing there's some contacts in there that need filed, but I'm open to suggestions.

Wow, it looks like there's a straight, shiny car under that dust. Welcome to the forum! There's also a Riv forum here, so those guys might have a bit more insight on those doors.

Oklahoma is proud of their pure gas. Seems like I had that conversation on here before...

A quick clearance check (hard to show in a photo), and we're good to go!

The old balancer slipped right off (just like my Opel motors!), and the new one slipped on just the same. I did NOT use the bolt that came with the new pulley. It was longer and bottomed in the crank before the flange contacted the face.

Ok, I stand corrected. The old gun was 425 ft-lbs. I wanted the 1000 ft-lb job, but couldn't get one so we settled for the 700 ft-lb number. So much for sneaking up on it. 3 forward settings, one reverse. Backed the bolt out like it was nuthin'...

Found along old Route 66 in Carthage, Missouri - October 2012

Oh, I was going to throw out there... When in Springfield, Missouri we like to stay at the Rail Haven (Best Western). Elvis stayed there in '56; just try to ignore the F*rds out front. When we were there for the national meet, there were all kinds of Europeans traveling 66 that couldn't get enough of the '56.

That's one reason I'm not a fan of using the starter to bust it free. I'll try to sneak up on it rather than give it the beans all at once.

Chrome keeps the steel from rusting. It's used in lots of places that nothing else will survive because it is very hard and does not corrode. Chrome bumpers rust from the back side out, or from the front where pits, chips, and scratches compromise the chrome and expose the steel underneath. Chromed pot metal usually pits where contamination existed before the chrome was put on. In short, just keep it clean. You could wax it from time to time to protect any steel that might accidentally get exposed.

They vary. Springfield 2015 was June 10-13; this year in Allentown was July 27-30...

The national meet in Brookfield is July 5-8, 2017 I don't know that a date has been nailed down for Denver 2018 yet. The All-Buick show in Wichita is a week and a half out!

Wichita, Kansas is about 1300 miles via OKC. LOTS of primo Route 66 along that route. It would make a nice 'test run'... I also have a big gap from 1920 to 1940 in my pre-registered cars I'm trying to fill, and you'd pretty certainly clinch the Long-Haul award.

When we bought our Saturn Vue in 2004, we set a goal of dragging it down every inch of Route 66. We are in the Michigan/Ohio area at least every 2 years (twice this year alone), and we were still in OKC summer of 2004, so we've killed that stretch pretty well. We were also in St. Louis 3-4 times a year for a while and have explored the haunts in that area fairly often. Seriously, you could spend a week just soaking in the St. Louis area. It's amazing how much has been lost/changed in the last 12 years. I haven't been to Ted Drews since about 2008... Now the Vue has 280,000 miles on it, and the farthest west on The Mother Road it has been is Albuquerque (it's been farther west, just not on 66). I'm not sure it's gonna make it to LA, but I'm still contemplating it. On the other hand, my oldest was 2 when we started in downtown Chicago, and the closest we've been since is I-80 cruising by on our way to Michigan so the other 2 kids have never been. I'm thinking it's time for a reset. I'm building an Oldsmobile wagon for my wife, and the goal is to have it at the Oldsmobile Homecoming in Lansing next year. Seems like a good opportunity to start over and get the younger two up to speed.

I'm not going that deep. I'm only into the top sheet metal of the pulley, not even the iron of the balancer.